QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 106,682 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. $CAH

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Cardinal Health stake by 176.8% in the second quarter, buying 106,682 additional shares for a total of 167,009 shares valued at approximately $39.7 million. Institutional investors now own 87.17% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 16 Buy ratings and three Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $266.56. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America recently raised their price targets to $265 and $260, respectively.
• Cardinal Health reported quarterly EPS of $2.91, beating expectations of $2.42, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year to $63.67 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5158 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 176.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,009 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 106,682 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Cardinal Health worth $39,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 73.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,247,000 after purchasing an additional 7,553 shares during the period. Wellington Altus USA Inc. bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. National Pension Service increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 477,491 shares of the company's stock worth $113,433,000 after buying an additional 17,492 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 394.9% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 44,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,549,000 after acquiring an additional 35,432 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the second quarter valued at about $202,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Cardinal Health from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.56.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE CAH traded down $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $221.41. 1,215,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,982,420. The company has a market capitalization of $51.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.78. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.87 and a 12-month high of $258.30.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $63.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.15 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 98.53% and a net margin of 0.67%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 12.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.5158 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.49%.

Insider Transactions at Cardinal Health

In other news, insider Michelle Greene sold 11,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.72, for a total transaction of $2,746,138.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,434,987.60. This represents a 53.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jessica Mayer sold 29,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.19, for a total transaction of $6,952,488.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,812,220.44. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 210,271 shares of company stock worth $49,626,657. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the pharmaceutical and medical industries. Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter products and consumer health items to pharmacies, hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers. The segment also provides specialty pharmaceutical services, nuclear and radiopharmaceutical products, and related support for manufacturers and providers.

Through its Global Medical Products and Distribution segment, Cardinal Health manufactures, sources and distributes medical and surgical products, including gloves, gowns, syringes, exam-room supplies and other essential equipment.

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